Business Bricks

Andy Bell says:
Matt’s initial comment on this site was that it was lovely but that it was a shame that you can’t buy online (as it is an impulse purchase). That made me think we had rather hidden the checkout away. Did anyone else not spot there was a checkout? Is there anything else we need to fix?
by Andy Bell on 6 Oct

Simon says:
I think the Nudo Italia site is a very fine piece of design. However, it doesn’t come across at its best if viewed on an 800 x 600 monitor. Since at least 25% of all internet users will be viewing at this resolution, it’s important to make it look as convincing as possible even at this size. Quick tip (with apologies as I’m probably teaching granny to suck eggs): download Firefox, then get the web developer extension. This gives you a one click method of resizing the browser to 800 x 600 (or any other size). Great for testing this sort of thing.
by Simon on 6 Oct

Lee says:
I love the visual style but that’s where my love ends. The home page needs lots more HTML text (Google loves HTML text), better title tag i.e. more descriptive, and why bother having an entry page? Ask yourself does it add anything to the experience of using the site?
by Lee on 6 Oct

Andy Bell says:
Simon - thanks. The extension is brilliant, I’ve just had a play.

Lee - I’d normally agree with you. I’ve never made a site with an entry page before. They got binned 5 years ago and with good reason. However with this site it just seemed right. There’s something leisurely about the product. If the customer won’t take a second to relax and buy into the dream - then there’s not much hope of a sale. It’s quite a aspirational product (£75 for a couple of bottles of olive oil!) so it works to put some distance between the user and the product. Or maybe we are just a bunch self-indulgent designers in danger of disappearing up our own *****? Feel free to slap me…

With regard to needing more html text for search engines, I’m not sure I agree. With this sort of project, I think the first priority is to make a site that people love - not a site that search engines love. Users are so perceptive and they can tell when a site has been designed with a search engine in mind. Out of all the sites we’ve ever made, this is the one that has had by far the best reaction.
by Andy Bell on 7 Oct

Lee says:
Fair enough. You know more about the aims and objectives of your client. The site is still very nice to browse and that makes it very appealing - I really wanted to buy but £75 is simply too much money. As far as adding more text and the other suggestions I made go, you don’t have to go crazy to make it easier for search engine spiders to index the site but maybe the site is being marketed in other ways that make SE optimisation a lesser need… ?
by Lee on 7 Oct

Laura says:
Andy, you were doing so well, I was going to “buy into the dream” until I googled the website, just to check it is legit before I hand over £75. However, reading your own comment, “£75 for a couple of bottles of olive oil!” suggesting, how daft a customer would be to buy into that, made me realise what is was, just a money making scheme to sell olive oil at extreme prices. It is a good website, you almost had me, you should just check that you don’t lose all your customers by then having negative comments written by your goodself easily found online! A nearly was customer
by Laura on 7 Jun